Cross Country Finishes 24th

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's cross country team concluded its season with a 24th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., earlier today. Senior Sarah Martinelli led the way for the Mountaineers, finishing in 81st place with a time of 21:23.2.

"We are thrilled with the way this season ended up," says coach Sean Cleary. "We were the runner up at the Big 12 Championships, qualified for nationals and now a final national ranking of 24th. This group has maximized their potential throughout the championship portion of our season."

Junior Savanna Plombon followed with a 174th-place finish, crossing the line in 22:12.6. Sophomore Megan Yuan crossed in 195th (22:28.8).

WVU's combined score of 621 beat out No. 22 Penn State, No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 25 Vanderbilt. No. 7 Iowa State represented the only other Big 12 Conference school at the championships, and finished in 13th place.

"Coaches and great teams are always striving to be just a little bit better. This team is no different. The what if's are so long this year, but in no way will we allow that thought process to diminish this result. We are very proud of this result, and believe strongly that we will use this performance to motivate ourselves for the next 365 days," Cleary says.

No.1 Providence claimed the women's National Championship with a score of 141. The Friars placed four runners in the top 75, and three in the top 50. Dartmouth senior Abbey D'Agostino won the individual title, finishing the 6K course in 20:00.3.

WVU came into the race ranked No. 26 in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers were awarded an at-large bid to the the championships after finishing fourth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional.